Lucius had learned quite a lot of things from this conversation and was looking to learn more, thus he became silent and waited for his mother to continue.

~Sigh~

“There is an old law that has existed for many centuries now. According to this law, the nobles or the rulers of any land that has been the target of a crusade cannot be left free.

The situation back then was tense, and many nobles were executed straightway. Even your grandfather was going to have the same fate, but the people of the Church knew it would be unjust.

But they were stuck between the law that could not be violated according to the doctrines of the church and their own moral dignity. The archbishop eventually found a solution to that which was rather simple, but came at great cost.

The nobles would have to give up on their status and also swear to never become one again. They would have to live as lowly commoners from there on, even their descendants would not be able to become nobles.

Seeing as this was the option that would let them stay alive, your grandfather took it and so did my half sister along with her husband. I was safe from this, as I was married to your father and it did not apply to me.

But my half sister was not married to a noble. Instead, her husband married into our family, which was why he had to give up on his status too. Though because he came from a commoner background, he didn’t mind it as much.

Your grandfather died two years after that due to old age and my half sister perished to a fever. It was sad since the fever could have been easily healed by a healer or a priest, but because their status had fallen and their fortune seized, they could not afford it.

I had tried to contact her back then but grandfather had intentionally chosen to hide as he did not want his other daughter to get implicated in it. Kiana was five when her mother died and thus her father sent her to us when he had to enter the army again.

Because she could not be given an official status, your father figured out a different method. You were young at that time and needed a personal maid, and thus he appointed her in that position.

But we could not do it freely and had to let Kiana go through the proper training of a servant. We were already under scrutiny due to being related to the Feltan kingdom and obliged.” Lita explained.

Lucius nodded his head in understanding. He figured out the two main culprits of this entire thing were the incompetent king and the old law of the church. Had either of them not been there, no problem would have occurred.

Kiana lightly grasped Lucius’s palm and spoke.

“Do not be sad, I am grateful that aunt Lita took me in. Even if I had to be a servant, I am happy to be with you.” Kiana said with a smile.

“Seems like there are a lot more things I need to learn now. This simply won’t do…” Lucius said.

“That can be done later. For now, you should eat the breakfast.” Lita said.

Lucius nodded his head and finished the breakfast. Just as he had finished up, a servant came to announce something.

“Master Kain has arrived.” The servant spoke.

Lucius’ ears perked up as he guessed who that was.

“Looks like your tutor is here, let’s go meet him,” Lita said before standing up.

They all went to the main hall where the tutor was being served some refreshments. He noticed Lita and the others approaching and horridly stood up.

“Greetings madam Lita, and young lord Asher.” Kain said in a respectful manner.

“Master Kain, I’m happy you were able to take some time from your busy schedule.” Lita replied.

“Ahaha! The pleasure is mine, I already owe plenty of favors to Count Gabriel, how can I miss this opportunity. Besides, most of my projects are currently complete and my apprentices will be doing my job in my absence.” Kain responded with a little laugh.

Lucius was currently analyzing the man in front of him. Kain looked to be in his early fifties and had graying hair. He had a coarse beard and a full mustache. He was wearing some kind of robes that Lucius had not seen before, but there were no peculiar symbols or markings on it that would let Lucius recognize them.

“Should we start? I would like to begin as soon as possible.” Lucius said, cutting the pleasantries short.

“Of course, I’m happy the young lord is taking initiate. Let’s go to the library, I believe most of the books we need should already be there. If not, I can get them at any time.” Kain replied in a happy tone.

“We will leave you to it then,” Lita stated before leaving to do her preparations for the arrival of Count Gabriel tonight.

Kiana on the other hand, accompanied Lucius and Kain to the library but did not enter it.

“If you need anything call me, I shall stay outside and avoid disturbing you,” Kiana spoke.

“That would be alright,” Lucius said, feeling a bit impatient.

~thud~

The doors of the Library closed as Kiana left it, and Lucius looked at Kain.

“We should start then, I need to learn languages,” Lucius stated.

“Sure, I already have some notes prepared that should help you. These are used to teach children but they are good and to the point.” Kain said before withdrawing a notebook from a satchel bag that was hanging around his waist.

“I’ll recite the letter for you and you repeat after me. After you are done memorizing them, we’ll move onto learning common words.” Kain suggested.

Lucius nodded his head in acknowledgment and his first ever lesson in language began.

Before coming here Kain would have never expected that today, he would be seeing the birth of a monster.